CQ Worldwide DX Contest, SSB
Call: N8II
Operator(s): N8II
Station: N8II
Class: SOAB HP
QTH: WV
Operating Time (hrs): ~ 30
Summary:
Band QSOs Zones Countries
------------------------------
160: 24 10 18
80: 111 14 44
40: 129 17 55
20: 760 32 106
15: 845 26 100
10: 107 15 38
------------------------------
Total: 1976 114 361 Total Score = 2,660,475
Club: Potomac Valley Radio Club
Comments:
I wouldn't spend the weekend working the WW if I didn't get some enjoyment
out of it, but it's definitely less enjoyable when ten meters is not much
of a factor. My low band antennas are just not that competitive.
At the start, I thought I'd get smart and load stations into the
memories who were warming up on 20M. I had 10 memories loaded by 2359 and
wouldn't you know it, the Caribbean basically died out promptly at 00Z!
Maybe 3 out of 10 were left to work. Some of the Carib. did come back in
towards the end of the first hour probably due to Es, but I didn't even
manage 60 Q's in first hour. I went to 40 the 2nd hour and found the
expected wall to wall QRM from 7002 to 7100; all the Eu were loud. About
half the stations were working USA split. Very few took advantage of the
new Eu privielges between 7100-7200, food for thought. There was good 160
activity by 02Z and most Caribbean stations were easy to work, but there
were only a few weak Eu not hearing USA well (no Q's). Then I went up to
75 at 0213 to find quite good condx. After sweeping the band finding many
loud sigs from Eu and a few to the south, I started a run which lasted
maybe 45 minutes until my Tx freq was taken over by a local multi-op.
Quite a few countries called which I might have missed otherwise, but
nothing that rare. At least I was able to copy most every one who called
thru the QRM; the band was busy! Sigs were still good from Eu on 40M at
04Z, not much of any drop out from the MUF dipping below 7 MHz. I probably
should have kept going past 0430 when I quit for the night, because it
took a long time to get to sleep (what's that?, Hi!).
Both mornings on 160/75 pre-sunrise, you could barely tell the WW was
in progress. I called AH7C, the only Pacific DX heard on 75 about 5 times
and gave up. He didn't seem to be hearing well. The only 40M DX to the
west was ZL6QH who wasn't loud, but heard me first call. Up to 20 at 1128Z
which was WIDE OPEN and full of activtiy, I tried to run around 14169 and
was amazingly successful. This was perhaps the best run surprise of the
test. Despite QRM above and below, I was able to run without getting that
many repeats. A lot of the loud guys were available and tuning around
looking for Q's. The run was so good on 20 (150 Q's in the 12Z hour), that
I was late getting up to 15 at 1307 which was wall to wall full of loud Eu.
However, signals were noticeably weaker than on 20. After a few S&P's, my
2nd run freq took hold and I was off into run Nirvana again. Best hour was
125 in the 14Z hour. Activity from Russia was wonderful, but their sigs
were considerably weaker than western Eu and by 1415 or so they were
fading into the sunset literally. Activity seemed at an all time high
from Belgium and down a bit from Italy and Serbia. It was interesting that
the UK dropped out around 15Z only to come roaring back around 1645Z.
15 stayed runable to very western Eu til around 18Z. I should have
to 20M sooner as condx were in the slowly closing mode already by 18Z.
Many sigs were weak, a few callers were booming in.
Ten opened to zones 11-13 around 15Z, but was nearly totally dead 17-18Z.
When I checked again at 20Z, what a difference! The Caribberan was booming
in as far north as KP2/4! It took maybe 30 minutes of intense S&P to cull
out what I could. Some zone 8's missed the opening being so late in the
afternoon, but a late day opening is typical of very low solar activity.
There were only a few Pacific stns on 15 (A35, ZL, VK2KPP, KH6) in the late
afternoon. With the setting sun came much tougher going and I started
tiring. 20 was nearly dead to JA at 22Z; I worked about 3. At 01Z the
JA's were S7 to in the noise on 20, but considerably better. I S&P'ed 2
zone 19's, 1 zone 18 and a VY1. KL7 was in the noise. The low bands were
down from the night before, but knowing that 160 peaks to Eu often around
23-24Z, I was rewarded with my first Eu Q's. HG8L was loud but barely
hearing any USA. OZ1HXQ and GM0B were easy high in the band with no USA
callers. Sigs on 75M were noticeably down from the first day, but several
new DXCC in Eu and to the south were logged. 40 was dropping out to Eu by
02Z, with a few loud southern Eu left.
The 2nd day pre-dawn was quieter than the first, but I did manage to get
2 KH6's on 75M and only worked 2 stations on 40 one of which was a VE. A
VK6 couldn't hear me. I hit 20 just as the band was starting to open to
northern EU, very weak to UA. This time there was no magic and I gave up
on 14176 after 5 min or so and didn't do that well higher in the band;
S&P might have been better looking back. It was a relief when 15 opened
to the runable point around 1210Z; my best hour was 122 at 13Z. A wide
SP2 plopped about 3 kHz up and made for a lot of repeats (he wouldn't
move or reduce drive). On both 20 and 15 all day, many fairly to very
weak stations called making the runs a tiresome and less enjoyable
experience. Many times I had to wait for a break in the QRM or the
signal to QSB up to readable. At about 1355Z, my run frequency became
wonderfully quiet making me wonder if 10M was wide open. I stuck with
the good rate on 15 for about 20 minutes, then jumped to up ten which
was BARELY open to EU, but that was more than I had hoped for after not
even an African on Saturday. I called and worked 4 G's, 2 F's, MW4C,
3 EA's, and the only decent signal from 5B/AJ2O. I found ZS6BRZ who was
being called by FR1HZ. Efforts to poach the FR by asking him to QSY up
didn't work, but after about 3 minutes of CQ'ing after working the ZS,
he called in so weak at first I could barely tell there was a signal.
ZD8Z was weak and hopelessly busy with EU, but I caught him later first
call. Also worked were VE1JF, VP5T, VP5KE, and HI8ROX on ? Es. About 1
hr. later a 2nd check of 10 yielded a couple of EA's plus EA8's and CT9L
+ CT3YA. In the 17Z hour western EU was booming in on 15, then time for
20 at 18Z which was a bit strange. Sigs from DL and nearby were quite
weak but 4X0WV called complimenting my signal and G's/F's were loud.
Northern EU was sparse, but sigs good. 10 was never quite a good to the
Caribbean as the day before, but zones 11 and 13 were plentiful, nothing
heard to west. The last 4 hours were fairly slow with LP VK/ZL on 20M
(thanks to KD2RD for letting me work his ZL) and good AF condx, but poor
activity.
The pluses of this outing were: being able to run Eu reasonably well for
long stretches despite very full 15/20M bands; the quality of the DX ops
seems to have improved (many good ones) which always makes for an enjoyable
conetst; condx were not very disturbed (but polar DX was still tough);
10M was better than expected to Eu, but what a difference from 2004; and
I didn't need to get into any frequency fights with someone trying to take
over a run frequency.
There was one Caribbean moron who I listened to thru 4 Q's without giving
his call. When I dumped mine in out of desparation, he said I was a dupe
and I should get his call before calling. He never did identify. My time
is just as valuable as someone running a pile-up; ID or suffer the dupe
consequences.
African activity seemed down quite a bit from the last couple of years
(I looked pretty often). Eu activity was the usual nearly bottomless pit.
JA's are not much of a factor here at the bottom of the cycle, only a
handful worked only on 20M. I never heard zones 22-24 and 26-28, though
locals reported working JT and BV on 20M.
Many thanks for all the Q's and a tiring but fun weekend.
Posted using 3830 Score Submittal Forms at: http://www.hornucopia.com/3830score/
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